The wife of a Texas county commissioner is pleading for voters to re-elect her husband so he does not stay home and drive her crazy. The request comes in the form of a humorous ad being called “the most delightful ad of the season” by many on social media.
Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty (Republican) put out the self-deprecating ad (posted below) featuring his wife, Charlyn Daugherty. Mrs. Daugherty cutely begs the voters of Travis County Precinct 3 to re-elect her policy-wonkish husband so he will not be around the house ranting about the details of county budgets, roads, and the like.
Travis County is a strongly Democrat-held jurisdiction where Daugherty currently serves as the only Republican on the five-member commissioners court.
Mrs. Daugherty makes a tongue-in-cheek appeal to the voters to spare her from her husband’s political rants. She says he does not have any hobbies and just wants to fix things. The ad continues showing Daugherty talking incessantly about tax rates, transportation, and other issues important to county voters.
The ad has gone viral with over 2 millions views including a share from Star Trek television and movies star George Takei, a well-known Democrat. “I don’t know anything about Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty. But I found his campaign video to be very droll. Ah, some welcome levity this election cycle.” The posting by Takei, who famously played Star Trek’s Lt. Hikaru Sulu, has been shared nearly 7,500 times from his post alone.
Facebook user Matt Stevens wrote, “I love it. Its [sic] nice to see someone who appears down to earth in politics. The ad doesn’t bash anyone and it’s not hostile.”
One of Daugherty’s apparent constituents, Katharine Williams Orgain, wrote in response, “He is a good County Commissioner and we are in different parties. Good people.”
In addition to the more than 2 million views on Facebook. The ad’s YouTube views are now at just over 1.7 million.
The Republican county commissioner served on the court from 2002 to 2008. He rejoined the court in 2012 and is seeking re-election in a race against Austin Democrat David Homes.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.